The present invention relates to merchandisers, and more particularly to merchandisers including a uni-body structure and a self-cleaning system.
Merchandisers generally include a case defining a product display area for supporting and displaying food products to be visible and accessible through an opening in the front of the case. Merchandisers are generally used in retail food store applications such as grocery or convenient stores or other locations where food product is displayed in a refrigerated condition. Some merchandisers include doors to enclose the product display area of the case and reduce the amount of cold air released into the surrounding environment. The doors typically include one or more glass panels that allow a consumer to view the food products stored inside the case. Other merchandisers do not have doors, but utilize one or more air curtains directed across the product display area to separate the refrigerated environment of the product display area from the ambient environment surrounding the merchandiser.
Existing merchandisers utilize heavy gauge, structural steel external frames to carry structural load, including the weight of food product within the merchandisers and the weight of repair technicians standing on top of the merchandisers during installation or repair. Existing merchandisers also include one or more foam insulation panels disposed within the external frames. The foam insulation panels consist of sheet metal skins surrounding a layer of blown polyurethane insulation. The sheet metal skins provide an attachment surface for merchandiser components. The skins also provide a moisture barrier to prevent moisture from migrating into the polyurethane foam insulation and degrading the insulation properties of the foam. However, the sheet metal skins and foam in existing merchandisers cannot carry structural load.